Spring Break
Parents struggle to keep children enrolled in school
By Amber Whittaker
Issue date: 5/18/06 Section: J School Travels
Originally published: 6/1/06 at 3:01 PM CSTLast update: 6/1/06 at 3:01 PM CST
BAY ST. LOUIS, MISS. - At a washed-out bridge, John and Heather Chaszar stood with their children Christopher, 8, and Nicolas, 6, looking out at what was once U.S. Highway 90.
Before Aug. 29, the boys were students at private schools, but those schools haven't reopened.
Although John Chaszar continues to live in the area and work at a local casino, Heather Chaszar and the children are living with relatives in New York.
Home for the holidays, the boys were spending time with both parents, a rarity since Hurricane Katrina destroyed their schools and separated their family by 1,400 miles.
At that same location, Michael Ogles watched as his girlfriend's daughter, 11-year-old Mcayla Spears, blithely leapt across the first leg of the bridge's ruins
Mcayla lives in Hancock county, the same county as the Chaszars, but attends a public school.
Since the hurricane, her school has been combined with two other elementary schools, classes are taught in portable buildings and lunchtime is held in the classroom.
Sometimes Mcayla's teacher will mix it up and take the class outside to eat on the back porch.
Ogles said he's not worried about Mcayla or the other kids in the town.
"For them it's not depressing. That's the thing about kids. Life goes on and they make the best of it," he said.
An estimated 372,000 students were displaced and unable to return to their home schools after Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. Often separated for months at a time, many children are living with relatives in other states with at least one parent staying behind.
Like Mcayla, students are often squeezed into unconventional settings or hastily organized schools.
Before Katrina hit, Christopher Johnson, 17, was attending Jesuit High School, an elite Catholic school in New Orleans. Evacuating the storm, Johnson stayed with a cousin at a Louisiana State University apartment in Baton Rouge with 13 other people.
After a few weeks, Johnson's schedule became more normal. His parents returned to the family home in Chalmette, and he moved to Houston to stay with an aunt and uncle. In October, his high school opened a satellite program at a another Jesuit school in Houston, and 400 student evacuees started taking classes from 3:30 p.m. to 9 p.m.
Before Aug. 29, the boys were students at private schools, but those schools haven't reopened.
Although John Chaszar continues to live in the area and work at a local casino, Heather Chaszar and the children are living with relatives in New York.
Home for the holidays, the boys were spending time with both parents, a rarity since Hurricane Katrina destroyed their schools and separated their family by 1,400 miles.
At that same location, Michael Ogles watched as his girlfriend's daughter, 11-year-old Mcayla Spears, blithely leapt across the first leg of the bridge's ruins
Mcayla lives in Hancock county, the same county as the Chaszars, but attends a public school.
Since the hurricane, her school has been combined with two other elementary schools, classes are taught in portable buildings and lunchtime is held in the classroom.
Sometimes Mcayla's teacher will mix it up and take the class outside to eat on the back porch.
Ogles said he's not worried about Mcayla or the other kids in the town.
"For them it's not depressing. That's the thing about kids. Life goes on and they make the best of it," he said.
An estimated 372,000 students were displaced and unable to return to their home schools after Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. Often separated for months at a time, many children are living with relatives in other states with at least one parent staying behind.
Like Mcayla, students are often squeezed into unconventional settings or hastily organized schools.
Before Katrina hit, Christopher Johnson, 17, was attending Jesuit High School, an elite Catholic school in New Orleans. Evacuating the storm, Johnson stayed with a cousin at a Louisiana State University apartment in Baton Rouge with 13 other people.
After a few weeks, Johnson's schedule became more normal. His parents returned to the family home in Chalmette, and he moved to Houston to stay with an aunt and uncle. In October, his high school opened a satellite program at a another Jesuit school in Houston, and 400 student evacuees started taking classes from 3:30 p.m. to 9 p.m.
This is an open forum for the readers of TheRanger.org. Abusive, inflammatory, slanderous, obscene, pornographic and libelous language will not be tolerated. Please be considerate of other readers when posting comments. This is not the place for personal attacks. The staff of The Ranger.org reserves the right to deny publication of any posts. The comments posted here do not reflect the opinions of The Ranger staff, San Antonio College or the Alamo Community College District.
Be the first to comment on this story